#123. Finding Your Wise Tribe: The Power of Peer Support in Entrepreneurship

Let’s face it.

Running your own business can be exciting, challenging, empowering...

- and lonely.

And if you’ve been in practice for a while, you know what I mean when I say that friends and family – unless they are entrepreneurs themselves – may have trouble understanding what it’s like to stand in your shoes.

And yet, you need people around you who DO get it. You need peope who, like you, are on their own journey of success, who get the ups and downs that a life of entrepreneurship inevitably requires.

You need your own wise tribe.

You need the company of entrepreneurial peers who will challenge you when you get in your own way, support you when the doubts kick in, and celebrate like crazy when you get a win.

So let’s explore that.

This week on the podcast, we’re talking about the power of community, and its impact on your mental health, creativity and your overall business success.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why talking with your family and friends about your business isn’t enough.
• The harder way that some relationships may change as your business grows (and you grow, too.)
• Tips for how to find and cultivate your own wise tribe of healthy, success oriented peers who can walk beside you along the way. 

And more.

Because I don’t know where I’d be if I hadn’t made it a point to surround myself with success-oriented people over the years.

And if you’re serious about building the business you dream of, you need those  kind of people around you too.

Give it a listen.

~Wendy
  xoxo

P.S. If you’d like to just see what it’s even like to be in the same room with business owners like you - who get you in a completely different way -  I’ve got a workshop coming up in December that you might want to know about. You’ll hear a little about that in the podcast too.

Think about it! :)

_______________
SAVE THE DATE!

Ever wished you had a place where you could speak freely about what it’s like to run your own practice? Where you could get feedback about strategy or clarity on your most important goals?

What if there was a way you could talk through big ideas out loud with other practice owners who get you like no one else?

Consider joining us for OnPurpose 2025, the annual deep-dive strategic planning workshop I host each year in December.

This year’s workshop will be on Friday, December 6, from 1-5 eastern, and it’s online so you can join us from anywhere.

You don’t have to commit now. You can’t! It's not open yet! 😉 

But if you want to be notified when I open the doors for registration in November -  so you have a choice - you should at least get your name on the waiting list, don’t you think? ;)

Click here to do that, and I’ll make sure you get the news when it comes.  

Transcript

You're listening to ideal practice episode number 123 and today guys, I want to talk a little bit about relationships, and in particular about the wise tribe that you need to have around you to support you in your ongoing growth and success. Relationships are a big part of what makes it possible to succeed and thrive as a business owner, but it can be a little complicated.  And I want to dive into that a little bit today. 

All right? So that's what we're going to talk about. So stay tuned. 

Hey guys, and welcome back. Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of ideal practice. This is Wendy, Wendy Pitts Reeves, your host, and I'm happy to be hanging out with you today. This is one of my favorite subjects because this has played such a big role in my own, uh, evolution as a practice owner over the years. And it's something I just really want to, I want to highlight for you guys, because I think this can make such a difference for you. 

Before I get into the meat of today's conversation, though, I do want to just real quick highlight something that I talked about back in episode 122, because of the date that this is coming out.

We are now entering into quarter four, right? October, November, December, you got three months left this year. That is plenty of time to do some really awesome things.  And for you to stay on track for all the goals and the big things you want to accomplish this year, you got to do a certain amount of kind of review along the way and kind of taking stock and checking back in with yourself. 

So I went into that in some detail in episode one to 22. And in that episode, I offered a free tool that I have that is  a process that you can walk through to help you evaluate where you are right now, and to  get clear about what you want to do in quarter four. If you missed that, let me go ahead and share that again with you., because I really do want to make sure you have access to that. 

If you go to wendypittsreeves.com/quarter, just follow the prompts. You can download this tool. It's called the Quarterly Success Checker. It's a way of checking in with the level of success that you have,  not just overall, but in reaching your goals, following through on your intentions for the last 90 days and helping you get clear about what you want to do in the next 90 days, which is really a perfect way to run things.

So I just want to mention that really quick before we. Get going into the today's topic. All right, wendypittsreviews. com forward slash quarter. Go grab that for yourself. If you haven't already done that.  Now thinking about quarter quarterly planning, quarterly reviews and just sort of how we like sort of running our business from that point of view. 

I want to talk about something that, um, A group that I'm a part of that I have mentioned here off and on over time. Many of you have heard me share that I am part of an ongoing mastermind group, which is a basically a really sweet, precious, powerful sisterhood that I don't know how I would make it without.

And so back in August,  I was lucky enough to get to spend some time up in Washington state with this small group of some of my very, very best friends. They are, they are part of a circle of sisterhood that, that honestly lifts me up like no other.  They come from many different places around the country.

We all met through a coaching program that we were in a long time ago. Yeah. And they are all really different people in terms of what they do, the kind of businesses that they run, the way they approach their work. But every single one of them has something really special in common. They are expansive thinkers who believe that anything is possible.

They are leaders. They are encouragers. They are entrepreneurs. They're alchemists. They make things happen. They make things happen in a way that just is so much fun to watch. They are mamas and sisters and scientists and artists and teachers. They are wise women and their presence in my life.  It has played an enormous role in the changes that I have made internally and externally over the last.

10 going on 12 years now,  like I've known these folks a long time at this point.  In that episode last week in episode 122,  I shared with you a little bit more about some of the personal challenges that I've had this year. If you missed that, you might want to go back and listen to that. But I, and I talked with you about some of the, some of the very specific steps that I use and that you can use to get back on track when things are tough. 

Well, I want to say that Having  a group like this, having your own personal network of supporters can make a tremendous difference for you when you're going through a tough time.  Now the best part about these are entrepreneurs, so they know what it means to run a business and we know each other so well that we can call each other out when we need to.

We can support each other when we need to.  We actually meet online every once a quarter. That's what we do once a quarter, every 90 days. In fact, we've got our next meeting coming up and it's just a couple of weeks. Actually  we actually meet online every 90 days, once a quarter throughout the year. But we have learned that every so often we need to meet in person  because the energy is just different when you gather together like that.

And so once a year, maybe sometimes we might go two years. But on some kind of a semi regular basis, we pick some place in the country where we all come together for a true, three or four day retreat where we can just really be together and enjoy each other's company and deep diving into what our businesses need. 

While during this recent gathering in Washington state, we shared a little bit more deeply as we do when we get together like that. And it turns out several people in the group were going through some pretty tough times.  And ways that I didn't even know about in some cases. And it was so good to be able to sit on a porch in a beautiful place, to share that with each other and to support and lift each other up around each of those things.

And at the same time,  to do the work we came there to do, because we have a structure, we have a process. And we all came there to work on our business as well. We got all of it, y'all. It was just so delicious and so delightful in so many ways.  you And this kind of thing is important for you to have as well. 

I'll tell you over the last 10 or 15 years, I've had plenty of tough times. Um, as I'm sure you have as well, you can't live on the planet right without life happening. And I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't had people like this in my life  who,  Who did both things supported me personally and energetically, but also supported me as a business owner.

It's just precious.  I will also say that, um, that tribe has changed over the years and it will for you as well.  As a business owner, y'all know, I bet you get this. As a business owner, do you not find  that you worry about things People who don't own a business just don't really get  right. Like you have challenges.

You have things that keep you up at night that come with owning your own practice, that those around you who have a job who work in a hospital or an agency or work in corporate, or for that matter,  I don't know. They do all kinds of different things, but if they're, if they have never run their own business, there's a really good chance that they may not always understand some of the things that you worry about. 

Well, when you add life on top of that, divorce illness, troubles with a kid, the things that just everybody has to deal with,  it can get really tough. And you can find yourself really struggling sometime to balance it all out, to manage it all right. Well, having a healthy social support system is critical for everybody.

But I find that as an entrepreneur, finding friends who get that is important in a whole new way.  I also want to give you a little warning here, which nobody tells you, or at least nobody told me this in the beginning, although eventually I did have a coach that that began to speak to this, but  you will find over time. 

that as you grow, as your practice evolves, as your skillset changes, as your mindset changes, some of your friends may drop away. Some of your relationships  will change over time, guys.  Uh, in fact, we were talking about this recently in accomplished. Um, I don't talk about this a whole lot here, but I have mentioned to you guys that I have a, um, And it's an online support group that I host each month for women leaders.

This is part of my psychotherapy side of my work. Um, they aren't necessarily business owners. Some of them are, but they are women who are going through some pretty serious personal growth. And we were talking about this in that group recently, that as they grow, as they evolve, as they develop, their relationships also are going through some changes.

And sometimes that can be hard. It can also be liberating.  As with all growth, it can be messy and there's always a, there's a hard side, but it can also be liberating. So we were talking about that, how your relationships are going to change as you get stronger, as you get more clear, as you become more confident and as you step more fully into the life that you really want for yourself.

Well, that applies whether you're talking about in your personal life or in your life as a CEO, right?  The truth is some people will be.  threatened by the success that you are having.  Some just won't understand it. Some will love you just fine, but your interests are changing and what you have to talk about will change.

Whatever. I don't want it. There's no judgment here. This is just a natural part of the growth that we all go through.  And some will be genuinely supportive and totally on board with you all along the way because they are on their own path forward too.  That's the key.  What I really feel like you need  more than you probably know  is the support and camaraderie and  A shared space with other entrepreneurs, other business owners, and people like you who are also ambitious,  also brave,  also willing to go where things are hard, also willing to try the things that are new, also willing to tolerate the uncomfortable  feeling that all growth requires,  right? 

You need people like that in your life because they will get what you're going through because they're going through the same thing.  Ah, it's so good when you find these people. And I'm going to talk to you a little bit about how to look, how to find them. Okay? So don't worry. We're going to, we're going to go there.

Now, if  As you're listening to this, you're like, Wendy, I love this, but I don't know how to find those people besides the details. I'm going to give you a minute. I will offer just sort of put this, just want to plant a little seed here.  I have a small opportunity for you to get a taste of this coming up in a couple of months.

So this is way out. I'm. Only mentioning it now because I think it's relevant for this topic. In December, in the, in early December, the first couple of weeks of December, I'm actually going to host a half day workshop called On Purpose 2025, where we're going to talk about how to run your business and grow your practice on purpose  in 2025.

And that half day workshop is going to  enable you to get a taste of what it feels like to be in the space, a shared space with other entrepreneurs who get it like you do. It's so much fun. It's just so much fun to like, the way that people click in these things is I just, I never get tired of it. It's just such a kick.

If you think you might want to know a little bit more about that and you want to hear about it when I do post it. to promote it. It's going to be a while yet, but if you want to just be on the wait list so that when I start to talk about that and when I start opening up registration for that, you can add your name to a wait list right now.

Go to wendypittsreeves.  com forward slash On Purpose, all one word,  wendypittsreves. com forward slash on purpose. What you'll see is it's still talking about the last workshop I had last year, but follow the prompt on there. Click on it and add your name to the wait list so that I make sure that you know about it when I get ready to do that this year.

Because it is an opportunity to be in the room with people who get it just like you.  All right, so let's talk about how to develop this kind of support in your own life right now. Let's talk about how do you do this?  Well, the first thing I want you to do is I want you to just consider the idea of cultivating, taking action on cultivating, actively seeking out and building a support network on purpose.

Speaking about being on purpose,  you got to go find it, y'all. It doesn't usually happen. Now, when I ran my group practice, the group counseling practice that I ran for 25 or so years, I very actively and purposefully built that community to be a group like this. And anyone who was ever a part of that will tell you that's exactly what it was.

It was.  extremely supportive as a community where everyone who was there thrived  personally, as a person and as a practice owner, because of the way I built things in that group practice.  But if you're not a part of it, if you're not fortunate enough to be in a group practice like that, that doesn't mean you can't find this.

So one of my favorite coaches, James Wedmore says, one of the things he often says is that success leaves clues.  When you meet colleagues who are going places, who are doing things that you think is kind of cool, reach out to them, find a way to connect with them.  Put yourself in places where you're going to meet other people who are growth oriented like you.

Now, I mentioned that a lot of the people that are in this group that I'm a part of, we met in a coaching program. And I'm in another coaching program right now, and I've already made some good friends through that as well. That is one good way to meet other people who are like minded like you, but it's not the only way. 

Okay. So  some other ways, for example, are, um, you can literally look at your own network of professionals, colleagues who do the same thing you do.  Identify those that there's something about them that you like. You like their energy. You like what you see them posting online. You are hearing good things about them from clients that you've referred to them. 

They may be allied professionals. Maybe for example, if you're a therapist, maybe they're not a therapist. Maybe they are a nutritionist. Or a massage therapist, or a Reiki master. But there's somebody that you send your clients to because you know that they can, they, they help support the work that you're doing.

Maybe they're a guidance counselor at the local school where you're seeing kids. Maybe it's,  um, a prescriber, a nurse practitioner that you're sending a lot of people to.  You can literally start by reaching out to those people one at a time and just saying, you know, I really like what you're about and I'd like to kind of get to know you a little bit better and learn more about what you do.

Any chance you'd be up for meeting for a coffee sometime or maybe having lunch, like something as simple as that will do it.  And from that you can go lots of places. Okay. If you do that two or three times with different people, you can actually invite them to come together. One of the things that I did early on when I first started my group practice because I was trying to get word out about My practice I was trying to I was trying to make connections in my community.

I very much on purpose Identified those kinds of people that were in my town And I started inviting them to lunch and then I started inviting them in twos and threes. And then I eventually turned it into a thing and I said, why don't we have a monthly lunch where we just get together and see how things are going in our practices and support each other.

And you know, if you've got a client you need a little help with, or you're looking for a new office space, maybe somebody will know something. And we literally just started meeting once a month at a local restaurant. And that turned into all kinds of good things over the years.  So. It can be something that simple, but  you can also be joining a coaching program.

And there are lots of those online. My ongoing, my mastermind Evolve is not active right now. I'm not doing that right now. I might be starting it again next year. Haven't decided yet because as I talked about in my last episode, life is kind of challenging right now. Um, but they are out there. There are plenty of those out there.

So you can find that. You can also guys, you can also often find groups like this in your community. For example, Check with your chamber of commerce. Do they have any small groups that meet that are specifically for small business owners or for women and women business owners or for people of color or for any other group that could use LGBTQ  any other allied group that could use some extra support Maybe your chamber has something like that, like in the, in around where I am, I know that there is a Hispanic chamber of commerce.

I know that there is an, uh, an entrepreneurship center in downtown Knoxville that does all kinds of things to support small businesses. There is a monthly luncheon slash Talk that happens specifically for women entrepreneurs that goes back and forth between my county and a neighboring county every month.

Those are great places to meet people who like you are growing, evolving, trying new things, looking for support.  Find those. They're out there.  They're out there.  I want you to think about who the wise women are in your life and are you getting nearly enough time with them? And if you're not, how can you change that?

So it can be people like this that you reach out to. It may be people that you already know and y'all, maybe they're not entrepreneurs. Maybe they're just people that you admire. Maybe they are leaders in your town, but they have something that you would like to have more of.  Reach out to them.  And I'll tell you one of my favorite, favorite aspects of this,  whether it is one specific colleague or peer that you really connect with, whether it is a small group that you have lunch with on a regular basis, or whether you actually create a mastermind or some kind of a peer support group of some sort. 

One of the most powerful aspects of this is the accountability that it brings along with support.  I just can't say enough about what a difference it makes to have that kind of, that kind of support. So this group that I'm talking about, these women, man, they don't let me get away with anything.  They do not let me get away with playing small.

All I have to do is say one kind of lack minded kind of sentence and they will all shout in unison, story,  as in, that's a story you're telling yourself. Change it.  But we need people like that in our lives. We need people like that. So who does that for you? And if there's not, if, if your answer is, I don't know, Wendy, nobody, I don't think,  well, let's fix that.

Let's change that. Because  that group that I'm talking about,  even though they are literally scattered all over the country, the closest one to me is a two hour drive away.  And The rest are like Boston, Dallas, Washington State. Like they literally are everywhere.  And yet that day that I was up in Bellingham,  as I told you last week on the podcast, I had been dealing with some tough stuff.

Um, when my mom,  was hurt. And I was on the phone for, I don't know, a couple of hours wrestling with insurance companies and healthcare facilities and Dolan dealing with all the things that we all have to deal with at a time like that.  I was in a, really, I was pretty depleted and the minute I saw my accountability partner, he was also one of my best friends at this point.

When I ran into her that day on the street, when we finally reconnected after I hadn't seen her in person in a very long time, I cannot tell you how good it felt to get the hug that I got from her. And we immediately went to a coffee shop and sat and talked for two hours. This is before everybody else even got into town. 

Like, that's what kind of, that's what having these kinds of people in your life mean.  And  The best part is it's not just the emotional support around what's happening in your real life and the rest of your life But there's also so, um, what's the program you're working on? When's your next offer? What are you gonna do?

Well, how are you gonna be marketing that? So when are you gonna be raising your rates? Isn't it about time for that? So, how are you gonna get the word out about this new group you got going on like that's in there, too  It's just so good. It's just so good  So here's what I want you to do. I want you to reflect on the wise people in your life.

I'm talking about women because that is who's in my group, but it can be men. It can be coed. It can be whoever. I don't care. Who are the wise people, men and women in your life that you lean on, learn from, admire, whether you know them already or don't.  Why don't you write down two or three names and think about how you could connect with them this week. 

Are you part of an online social media group guys? If you're in one of the Facebook groups that speak to your profession, your industry, there are countless groups like that out there that have hundreds if not thousands of names in them.  There's nothing wrong with posting on there. Hey guys, I'm looking for some folks to have a call with and maybe hang out with a little bit and maybe swap a few ideas and maybe just kind of share some support about what it's like to be a practice owner.

Anybody out there interested?  You don't have to stay with them if you don't click, but you could try it because you never know what's going to come up.  I would invite you to make a list of two or three people like that or post something online and Schedule something it can be a coffee date at a local coffee shop.

It can be a happy hour hangout It can be an online zoom coffee, whatever  Tell this person or these folks what you're working on.  Ask them what they're working on. Because that's where the growth is going to happen. And then call each other up to a higher place.  Call each other forward.  That's where is delightful and I want you to enjoy every minute of it. 

Building a strong community doesn't happen by accident,  but it doesn't take a lot. Literally two or three people and you got something there, right? And it will make such a difference for your personal well being and your professional success.  So that's what I've got for you today. I hope that gets you thinking a little bit I want to thank you for listening today for being a part of this today And I just want to invite you if you haven't already done so be sure and subscribe to this podcast and I would love to hear from you your own stories of sisterhood and support in your own Entrepreneurial journey, especially. 

And remember, if you're interested in joining me for On Purpose in 24, where we planned for next year, and then you get to see what it's like to be a part of a small tribe like this, go to wendypittsreeves. com forward slash on purpose to get on the wait list so that I'll be sure to let you know when that happens.

Have a great week, everybody. Do take some action on this because it will make your life so much sweeter. I'm telling you, you don't want to run a business by yourself. It's too hard. Don't do that to yourself. Go find your tribe. Go find your wise women because you will be glad that you did  Have a great week, and I will see you next time right here 

Hey y'all, if this program has become important to you, if ideal practice matters, it would mean so much to me if you'd be willing to take just a minute to do one or two of the following things. First of all,  would you follow or subscribe to the show here at ideal practice following me helps you. because you'll never miss an episode, but it helps me as well for all kinds of reasons to do that.

All you have to do is go to the show page for ideal practice on Apple podcast or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts there. Just click on the plus sign that you'll usually find in the top right hand corner. Or click on the word follow that you're going to find somewhere there on that page  of all the things.

This really is the most important thing you can do for the podcast itself. While you're there, it would be extra special if you would be willing to give me a five star rating and even better than that, a review with your own words. Your word. Words matter. And when you write what you feel, what you think you uplift and encourage others.

And I love that.  If you want to go a step further than that, take your favorite episode or two, one of the ones that has meant a lot to you and share it with a friend.  Could you do one or two of those things for me? I promise I will love you forever. You guys matter to me and I value your support more than I can possibly say. 

Thank you, sweet friend, for anything you can do to help me out and support the show. I'll see you again soon.